Giving a Plane a Brand-New Life
Do you ever wonder what happens to airplanes after they are retired? Typically, they are disassembled and sold for their scrap metal worth. But today, we have an extraordinary story for you. This is the tale of a plane that avoided that destiny and was granted a brand-new life!
Since 2012, an Olympic Airways aircraft from Greece has been abandoned in an Oregon forest. But it was not abandoned by nature. It was saved by a retired engineer named Bruce Campbell. Campbell has a passion for keeping retired aircraft from being turned into scrap metal, and he bought the aircraft in 2009. Determined to give the plane a new, glamorous life, he spent thousands of dollars transporting it to the ten acres of forest land he owned.
“My goal is to change humanity’s behavior in this little niche,” Campbell said when asked about his actions.
A Unique Way of Living
But Campbell’s story doesn’t end there. He has transformed the airplane into his very own residence! Inside the abandoned aircraft, Campbell has created a comfortable living space. He sleeps voluntarily on a sofa, never even stretching it out to its maximum breadth until he is hosting guests. He keeps enough canned food on hand to last him for two months, and he even has his own makeshift shower made from rolling a sheet of PVC into a four-foot-tall cylinder.
A Surprising Discovery
When Campbell purchased the plane, he had no idea of its historical significance. It turns out that this very aircraft once carried Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who flew her second husband Aristotle Onassis’ body to his final resting place in March 1975. When Campbell matched the serial number of his 727 aircraft to pictures he found online, he discovered they were a perfect match. Onassis died in France, and his remains were flown to Greece on the same aircraft that Campbell now calls home.
The airline that owned this plane was Olympic Airlines, formerly known as Olympic Airways. In July 1956, Aristotle Onassis acquired the Greek national airline and renamed it “Olympic Airlines.” He aspired to build the most luxurious airline in the world, but unfortunately, in September 2009, the company halted all operations. However, Campbell’s aircraft survived and is now a testament to the visionary ideas of its former owner.
A Remarkable Transformation
Inside the aircraft, Campbell has created a living area, an office, two functional restrooms, and a working makeshift shower area. He has even installed a washing machine and a tiny kitchen for cooking. This retired engineer took something that was destined for destruction and transformed it into a lovely residence for himself. His commitment to preserving retired aircraft is truly inspiring.
So, the next time you see an airplane being retired, think of the incredible possibilities that exist beyond its use as scrap metal. Share this article with your relatives and friends so they can marvel at this magnificent conversion too.
